The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

The sea was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, and the outlines of the Nebula Kingdom fleet in the distance gradually blurred, with only a few lighthouse lights twinkling in the twilight.

He knew that tonight's operation was extremely risky. If it were exposed, it would not only alert the enemy but could even trigger a conflict between the two countries' fleets. However, if he did not take the risk, he would never know the other side's conspiracy.

As night fell completely, the sea became pitch black, with only starlight and moonlight casting shimmering silver light on its surface.

Yang Xia stood on the deck, observing the movements of the Nebula Kingdom fleet in the dim light.

Soldiers patrolled the decks of each of the enemy ships, and the guards at the cabin doors remained motionless, their torches illuminating the surroundings as bright as day, clearly indicating that they were well prepared for defense.

"Lord Yang, everything has been arranged."

Meng Yin quietly walked to his side and reported in a low voice, "The sailors have prepared their diving equipment, and they have explained the excuse for the circuit failure. The helmsman will also leave only a small light on, as you requested."

Yang Xia nodded, glanced at his pocket watch, and said, "It's almost midnight. Pass the word down and prepare to turn off the lights."

At Meng Yin's command, the lights of Yang Xia's fleet went out instantly, like candles being extinguished. The silhouettes of the ships, which could still be vaguely seen before, were now completely blended into the night, with only a faint light from the rudder, like a lonely star suspended on the sea.

This sudden change immediately caught the attention of the Nebula Kingdom's fleet. Captain John was sitting in his cabin reviewing the supply list when he heard the commotion on deck. He quickly got up and went out of his cabin. He squinted at the direction of Yang Xia's fleet and saw that the ships, which had been brightly lit, were now pitch black, with only a faint light flickering on the sea. Suspicion immediately arose in his heart.

"Captain, what do you think they're doing?"

The adjutant rushed over, his voice tense, "Why did you suddenly turn off the lights? Are you planning something under the cover of darkness?"

John frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the sword at his waist. "Yang Xia is a cautious man; he would never act strangely without reason. His sudden turning off of the lights means either he's trying to conceal his whereabouts or he's preparing for some operation. You immediately take men and increase deck patrols, especially around the cabins. Don't let anyone get close!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant responded and was about to turn around to make arrangements when he suddenly heard a frantic cry for help coming from the bottom of the ship: "Help! Someone, please save me!"

The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. John and his adjutant were startled and immediately ran towards the bottom of the ship. The soldiers on deck also gathered around, some raising torches to shine down. They saw a crew member clinging to the hull's crash bar, struggling desperately in the seawater. His clothes were already soaked through, and his face was filled with panic.

"What happened? How did you fall into the sea?"

John asked sternly, but a sense of unease crept into his mind—this crew member was responsible for guarding the supplies at the stern and should not have left his post without permission, much less have fallen into the water.

The crew member choked on some seawater, his voice trembling: "The ropes at the stern of the ship suddenly snapped. When I went to reinforce them, I slipped..."

The adjutant immediately ordered someone to lower the life ladder and pull the crew member aboard. John stared at his soaked clothes, then glanced towards the stern, sensing that things weren't so simple. He ordered in a low voice, "Go check the ropes at the stern to see if they're really broken. Also, take inventory of the supplies at the stern to make sure there's nothing amiss."

"Yes!"

A soldier received the order and immediately led the two men to the stern of the ship.

John walked up to the crew member who had fallen into the water, scrutinizing him sharply: "Tell me again, in detail, who else was at the stern? How did the rope break?"

The crew member's eyes darted around, and he stammered, "I... I was the only one there at the time... The rope seemed to have been soaking in seawater for a long time, and it suddenly snapped..."

John's suspicions deepened. The ship's ropes were specially made moisture-proof ropes, impossible to break easily, and the stern was inspected daily. How could a problem occur at this particular time? He was about to press for more information when his lieutenant rushed back to report: "Captain, the stern rope is indeed broken. The break is clean, not like natural wear and tear. And… one item from the stern inventory list is missing. I don't know if it was blown away by the wind, or…"

"what?"

John's expression changed. "Immediately send men to search the area around the stern. We must find that list! Also, strengthen security throughout the ship, especially the entrances to each cabin. We must not allow anyone to take advantage of the situation!"

He had a vague feeling that the incident of falling into the water earlier might be a ruse, and that Yang Xia might be trying to use the cover of turning off the lights to send someone to infiltrate the ship's hull and even attempt to access the supplies. And that lost list might have already fallen into their hands.

Meanwhile, on Yang Xia's fleet, Meng Yin quietly approached Yang Xia and whispered, "Lord Yang Xia, according to your plan, Old Zhou has already retrieved the supply list from the stern of the ship under the cover of falling into the water. However, the other side seems to have become suspicious and is searching everywhere."

A glint of light flashed in Yang Xia's eyes as he took the list from Meng Yin and quickly scanned it in the dim light of the helmsman's cabin. The contents of the list made his pupils shrink—besides being marked "special equipment"...

"Precision Instruments"

Besides the vague wording, it also mentioned "handover of Black Reef Island".

Destination: Eastern port of Yan Kingdom

And other key information.

"Sure enough!"

Yang Xia clenched his fist slightly. "They're going to transport these supplies to a port in eastern Yan, and they're even making contact with Black Reef Island. There must be a bigger conspiracy behind this."

Meng Yin leaned over and glanced at the list, then gasped in shock: "The eastern ports of Yan are important trading ports for us. If they transport these unknown supplies there, the consequences will be unimaginable. Should we send someone to notify the port's garrison now and tell them to prepare?" Yang Xia shook his head: "It's not the right time yet. The information on this list isn't detailed enough. We don't know what these 'special equipment' are, nor do we know their specific plans. If we rashly notify the port, we might alert them and cause them to change their route or plans."

He paused, then continued, "Tell Old Zhou to hide well and not be discovered. Also, notify the sailors who are on standby underwater to take advantage of the chaos of the search and quietly approach the largest ship in the middle of the Nebula Kingdom. See if they can find more clues about the supplies, such as the markings on the boxes, the quantity being transported, and so on. Remember, be very careful. If you are discovered, retreat immediately and do not linger in battle."

"understand!"

Meng Yin immediately turned around to make arrangements, his admiration for Yang Xia's plan growing stronger—first, creating chaos by turning off the lights, then having Lao Zhou pretend to fall into the water to obtain the list, and now sending sailors to investigate during the gap in the search. Every step was interconnected, both safe and efficient.

Before long, two diving sailors, dressed in black diving suits, silently submerged into the sea. The seawater was pitch black under the night sky, and guided by the starlight, they swam like two nimble fish towards the largest ship in the Nebula Kingdom.

John stood on the deck, his face grim as he watched his men search the area. He felt something was amiss with tonight's events; from the Yang Xia fleet's lights going out, to the crew falling overboard, to the missing inventory list—everything seemed meticulously planned. He instructed his adjutant, "Dispatch men to closely monitor the hull and sides of the ship to prevent anyone from diving close. Also, send men to investigate the vicinity of Yang Xia's fleet to see if they are indeed repairing the electrical circuits."

Just as the adjutant was about to set off, he suddenly heard a soldier shout, "Captain! There seems to be movement below the ship's side!"

John's heart tightened, and he immediately ran in the direction the soldier pointed, ordering at the same time, "Bring torches! Shine them into the water!"

Several torches were raised simultaneously, their bright light instantly illuminating the sea below the ship's hull. Two dark figures could be seen swimming rapidly into the distance, clearly having been discovered.

"Someone is diving close! Fire the arrows!"

John gave the order sharply, his sword already drawn.

The soldiers immediately raised their bows and arrows and shot at the two dark figures. The arrows fell into the sea, splashing up water, but they missed the two sailors—they had already taken advantage of the darkness and the seawater to quickly swim back to Yang Xia's fleet.

"hateful!"

John slammed his fist on the ship's railing in anger. "They still got away! It seems Yang Xia is determined to investigate our supplies tonight. We must increase our vigilance and not give them any more chances!"

The lieutenant quickly said, "Captain, why don't we send someone to Yang Xia's fleet now to question them? Let's find out what they're up to and teach them a lesson so they won't dare to act rashly again."

John pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No. We have no evidence that they sent people to infiltrate. Questioning them rashly will only make them more vigilant. Besides, our supplies are of utmost importance, and we absolutely cannot let more people know about them. The best course of action now is to continue strengthening our defenses and reach our destination as soon as possible. As long as we deliver the supplies safely, our mission will be complete."

He paused, then added, "Also, send someone to check in the direction of Black Reef Island to see if that small boat is still nearby. If it is, find a way to intercept it and make sure it doesn't leak the information."

"Yes!"

The adjutant immediately obeyed and left.

On Yang Xia's fleet, two divers had returned safely. Soaked to the bone but unable to hide their excitement, they hurried to Yang Xia to report: "Lord Yang Xia, when we approached the largest ship of the enemy, we saw that the cabin doors were heavily guarded, and the windows were all sealed, so we couldn't see what was inside. However, we found some strange markings on the hull, like some kind of special symbol, and we also smelled a faint, pungent odor. We don't know what it is."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xia's heart skipped a beat: "Special symbols? A pungent smell? Can you describe what the symbols look like?"

One of the sailors recalled: "The symbol looked like an inverted triangle with several intersecting lines inside. It looked very complicated and didn't resemble any country's script or totem. As for the smell, it was a bit like sulfur, but more pungent, and it would make you dizzy if you smelled it for too long."

"An inverted triangle symbol? A pungent smell..."

Yang Xia fell into deep thought. He vaguely felt that the symbol was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. The pungent smell reminded him of gunpowder or some kind of flammable and explosive material—if the Nebula Kingdom was transporting these things, then their arrival at the eastern port of Yan Kingdom was likely intended to cause an explosion, damage the port facilities, or even cause panic.

Just then, Meng Yin rushed over: "Lord Yang, it seems the other side has sent a small boat towards Black Reef Island. It looks like they want to find the small boat they handed over to earlier. Should we send someone to follow them?"

Yang Xia's eyes darkened: "We can't follow. The other side is already on high alert, and following them will only expose us. Moreover, Black Reef Island is surrounded by reefs, and sailing at night is too risky. What we need to do now is to report the situation here to the Yan Kingdom's court as soon as possible, and have them send people to investigate the situation on Black Reef Island and the eastern port. At the same time, we should continue to monitor the movements of the Nebula Kingdom's fleet, and record any new actions they take immediately."

He paused, then said, "Also, have Ni Qingqing check the signal flares on the ship. In case of an emergency, we can promptly request assistance from nearby Yan Kingdom ships. Although tonight's operation did not fully ascertain the enemy's supplies, we did obtain a lot of crucial information. Next, what we need to do is patiently wait for the right opportunity and absolutely not act rashly again."

Meng Yin nodded: "I understand. I'll go arrange the reporting now, and have Ni Qing count the signal flares."

Yang Xia gazed in the direction of the Nebula Kingdom's fleet in the distance, knowing full well that this covert contest with the Nebula Kingdom had only just begun. What exactly was their conspiracy? What were those mysterious supplies? What role did Black Reef Island play in all of this? These questions all needed to be answered.

Captain John stood in his cabin, staring intently at the supply list on the table. He knew Yang Xia had become suspicious of their supplies and had taken action. If they couldn't quickly shake off Yang Xia's surveillance and successfully deliver the supplies to their destination, and were discovered by Yan Kingdom, not only would his own life be in danger, but the entire Nebula Kingdom's plan would also fail completely.

"We must speed things up,"

John muttered to himself, "Tomorrow morning, we'll change course and take the shortcut. Although it's riskier, we can arrive at our destination a day earlier. Once we reach the eastern port, our people will be there to meet us. Even if Yang Xia tries to stop us, it will be too late."

He immediately summoned his adjutant, ordered a change of course, and strengthened security again to ensure the safety of the supplies.

As night deepened, the wind on the sea picked up, and the waves crashed against the ship with a resounding roar. Yang Xia stood on the deck, letting the sea breeze caress his face, his mind filled with a multitude of thoughts. He knew that tomorrow would be an even more crucial day; the Nebula Kingdom was likely to take more radical actions, and he had to be fully prepared to thwart their plot and protect the safety of the Yan Kingdom. (End of Chapter)